2012-09-25
2012-10-03
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STATION
FOXNEWS 17
MSNBCW 16
MSNBC 14
CNN 9
CNNW 9
KGO (ABC) 5
WJLA 5
WMAR (ABC) 5
WRC 3
KPIX (CBS) 2
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WUSA (CBS) 1
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English 104

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? will mitt romney deliver a moment that shifts the trajectory of the race? great expect tapgss. romney campaign co-share will be here to preview the debate. we'll also talk to debar wasser man shultz about what's at stake for the president. >>> is it the spirit of america? a feisty debate for elizabeth warren and scott brown. both struggled on basic answers on washington. scalia and lugar. good morning from littleton, colorado, just outside of denver in the all-important denver suburbs. the swingiest part of the state. it's tuesday, october 2nd, 2012. i'm chloyce talbott. mitt romney landed in colorado last night and scored the endorsement of the big guy. the legendary quarterback and now executive vice president of football operations john elway. it was the only scheduled talk. it was a stealth bomber in the background there. romney tried to tamp down expectations in the back. >> people want to know who is going to win? who is going to score the punches and who is going to make the biggest difference in the arguments they make? in my view, it's not so much winning or losing or even th

of the race. president obama is holed up in vegas for two days preparing. mitt romney will be in colorado tonight. the latest poll shows president obama and mitt romney locked in a tight race nationally. but where it counts, those battle ground states, the president still leads. and here's another interesting poll. most people think the president will win the first debate which may be why he's trying to lower expectations. >> i know folks in the media are speculating already on who's going to have the the zingers. governor romney is good. i'm just okay. >> and paul ryan played his own version. >> president obama is a gifted speaker. he's been on the national stage for many years. he's done these kinds of debates before. this is mitt's first time on this kind of a stage. >> but if all candidates are trying to lower expectations, maybe chris christie missed that memo. >> governor romney's going to lay out his vision for a better and greater america for greater opportunity for all of our citizens. and i think that's when you're going to see this race really start to tighten and move in gover

romney will turn the presidential race upside down with his debate performance? chris california fee nous joins me for the conversation. things still get you. for you, life's about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hi

this race really start to tighten and then move in governor romney's direction. come thursday morning the narrative of this race is going to change. >> romney has been preparing with senator rob portman who filled in as obama during john mccain's 2008 prep. the president practicing with jor kerry playing the role of romney. kerry is a good fit since the parallels between his '04 and current one is overwhelming. can romney get the post-debate bounce kerry did in '04 and take it one step further and turn it into something kerry couldn't do eight years ago. in '04 president bush had a six-point lead before the debates but kerry's performance boosted him tying the men for the final debate but it was senator kerry in december '04 and not president elect kerry. the national polls are close her today than eight years ago but the numbers in key battlegrounds today tell an obama victory story. democratic strategist steve el mendorf, kerry's deputy campaign manager in '04. how are you? >> good, how are you. >> tell me about why your guy won the debates and lost the election and what that says p

on wednesday night to begin to alter this race across the board. romney's team is loading him up with a bunch of zingers for the debate according to to "the new york times." romney has memorized these zingers and has been practicing them on aids since august. romney obviously did well enough in the primary debates to make it this far, no doubt. although most of his competition wasn't as tough as president obama. romney also had some memorable moments. >> i'll tell you what. $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> the answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home because they can't find work here because they don't have legal departmentation to allow them to work here. >> i can't have illegals. rick, i'm speaking. i'm speaking. you get 30 seconds. this is the way the rules work here is i get 60 seconds. and then you get 30 seconds to respond, right? >> well, let's bring in democratic strategist chris ko kn kofinis and susan del percio. i think romney is going to lose his cool. susan, did governor chris christie think he was helping mitt romney

for romney right now but the race could change by election day because we haven't had the debates. the media sort of wishful thinking trying to write off romney. i normally do not buy into ideas that the media is on board on one side. this is the exception. this campaign, this campaign season has been especially egregious in terms of them ignoring things that are bad about president obama and those things that mitt romney has done wrong. >> chris: cal, why? >> why? you would have to ask why? my goodness. first of all, these polls we talked about this before on the show. i'm opposed to news organizations doing their own polls and making news from them. what you are going to see about ten days before the election is a lot of story line being, hey the race is tightening because they want to sell newspapers. this is a sophisticated form of fortune telling. i passed by a psychic, let me see who is going to win the election but it's the same approach. >> rick: narrative that gets played out in the media, that it's almost over. if romney doesn't score big in the first debate in denver that it's def

's a margin of error race. in other words, that'd code for romney's behind and that's why they're making comments like this one. >> the question was if we lose ohio, could we still win. say if and buts were candy and nuts, every day would be christmas. >> make no mistakes. ohio, big problem for romney. >>> speaking of the two candidates, while they're both in ohio today, yesterday obama and romney rivalled the muppets and tried to take manhattan. they jammed as much as they could during competing visits to the big apple, a whirlwind day of media appearances. it was hard to miss them either physically in new york or on the tv. >> i'm just supposed to be eye candy here for you guys. >> the two traded few actual barbs. instead they did more subtle contrasts on the serious issues like the middle east and education and even less serious topics like who could best suck up to the former president, bill clinton. their sharpest and most substantive change was on iran. united nations, the president appeared to draw a real line in the sand on iran's efforts to build a nuclear weapon. >> so let me b

this as an inyou in this race. -- as an issue in this race. according to politico governor romney now hold a 9-point advantage over president obama with middle class families. 53-44%. joining me to discuss it leslie marshall and lars larson. we were told by the mainstream media, lars, that governor romney was having major campaign issues and they were rooted to the middle class so how do you explain this poll? >> i think it's easy to explain. i can't wait for leslie to explain why middle class voters should like a guy -- watching middle class incomes -- megyn family incomes -- not the incomes of doctor's wives like leslie. but family incomes have gone down $5,000 under this guy. obama-care was supposed to bring premiums down by $2,500 but instead they have gone up $2,500. obama-care has 20 different taxes in it. why would any middle class family be happy about a president who took away flexible spending accounts? what is there to love if romney offers an alternative to what obama has done to them? megyn: when you look at the polling they dug deep and asked what is it that's upsetting you. 45%

a tight race. romney's campaign should have refocused their efforts, but instead, they find themselveses in a huge disadvantage, as the first ballots were cast today. president obama is moving in for the final knockout punch. the obama campaign unveiled a full two-minute television video ad today with president directly addressing viewers. the ad is airing in four swing states, including iowa. it has the look and feel of a candidate's closing argument. >> it's time for a new economic patriotism. rooted in the belief that growing our economy against with a strong, thriving middle class. read my plan. compare it to governor romney's and decide for yourself. thanks for listening. >> the president introduced the theme of economic patriotism into his stump speech at a campaign event in virginia today. >> during campaign season, you always hear a lot about patriotism. well, you know what? it's time for a new economic patriotism. an economic patriotism rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong and thriving middle class. >> this is a new line in the president's campaign

isn't about winning. polls show romney in a close race with the president, but trailing badly in some of the swing states that will decide the presidential election. well, here is mitt romney, we have heard these words before, sounds as though he's downplaying expectations as they say. take a listen. >> people want to know who is going to win, who is going to score the punches and who is going to make the biggest difference in the arguments they make and there is going to be all the scoring of winning and losing. >> so romney is saying, no, it is not about winning, not about losing, it is about america. but you have a lot of republicans, newt gingrich, for example, saying, hey, mitt romney, get out there, pick a fight, and win it. jim acosta with me now from the romney campaign. the debate, of course, tomorrow night in denver, you, sir, are in littleton, colorado. should we take mitt romney at face value when he says this debate is not about me winning? >> reporter: well, brooke, i think this is all part of the debate expectations game that has been going on for several days now. i th

for mitt romney. he needs to bring this race back to a referendum on obama. it was a referendum on president obama for awhile as any re-election should be, then it was a choice. now it's actually a referendum on mitt romney. he needs to shift the referendum back into the incumbent and have the debate questioners really hold the president to account for some answers in libya, his silence on syria and certainly the economy. >> jennifer, it's going to be a fascinating night, the debate. i can't wait to watch it. there is a point there, barack obama hasn't done a debate now for quite a long time. mitt romney spent most of the year debating and he got better and better. i thought actually he was a very good debater. one of the reasons he won the nomination was his ability to swat away all comers. so i would think this could be a bit of a surprise coming next week, where mitt romney maybe ought to refocus his whole campaign, get momentum and really get after barack obama at a time when barack obama least wants him to. >> i totally agree with you, piers. this is the moment for mitt rom

to the race. it's much closer. when it comes to the race. shows the mitt romney at 49 losing to obama with 47. much closer in that regard. >> so the first one wednesday. then we have two more coming up. biggest one no doubt. >> 36 days to go. >> 36 days to go. my goodness. >> not that we are counting. >>> as the the war in afghanistan winds down, the u.s. military reached a grim new milestone. 2,000 service members have now died in the war. the latest casualty, it was over the weekend when a soldier died in a fire fight with afghan troops. an american civilian contractor was also killed in that battle. >>> all right, new findings this morning in the government's botched gun tracking program, fast and furious, with dozens more firearms linked to crimes in mexico. our new partner univision, reports 57 undiscovered guns, connected to fast and furious, recovered at the sites of murde least two massacres. >>> a detroit area woman who collected welfare despite winning $1 million lottery, found drug of possible drug overdose. amanda clayton was on probation for fraud paid back $5,500 to the state of

: whatever. >> kimberly: coming up, democrats try to inject mitt romney's religion in presidential race again. is that a smart move when president obama sat in reverend wright's pew for years. >> stuff overseas now brought back in to our own front yard. america's chickens. coming home to roost. i'm freaking out man. why? i thought jill was your soul mate. no, no it's her dad. the general's your soul mate? dude what? no, no, no. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry. e-trade's got a killer investing dashboard. everything is on one page, your investments, quotes, research... it's like the buffet last night. whatever helps you understand man. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him. [ male announcer ] try the e-trade 360 investing dashboard. i'm bret baier in washington. the big story here battle for ohio. with less than six weeks to go until election day. tonight on "special report" we show you both candidates in the buckeye state. president obama trying to shore up a constituencies, young voters with trips to bolling green state and k

for romney to try to shake up the race. if you look at the polling in pretty much every swing state right now, there are a couple of exceptions, missouri being one of them. almost every swing state thement opened up a significant lead outside the margin of error in most cases. if tea lex were to be held today, it would be a shock if mitt romney were to win. he has to find a way to shake up that narrative. >> one of the things we've seen in the polls is older voters moving more in the direction towards president obama, and one of the key issues in this campaign has been medicare which has really been brought to light since mitt romney brought on paul ryan as his running mate. do you think retrospectively that could actually cost him? >> i think this is more about mitt romney than it is about paul ryan. it's always more about the principal than it is about the vice presidential candidate. that being said, when you talk to trks over the last few years, ever since paul ryan unveiled his medicare plan several years ago, what they've said is we hope we can play even on medicare and this is in congr

that the debates would change the narrative of this race. that is a lot of pressure the romney campaign is putting on the debates. >> mark hurry, nbc news, senior political editor, telling us those conventions do matter after all. thank you, sir, have great sunday. >>> three days until the much-anticipated first presidential debate and the romney camp betting that the showdown as you just heard there, will be a game-changer. >> governor romney is going to lay out his vision for a better and greater america for greater opportunity for all of our citizens. and i think that's when you're going to see this race really start to tighten. and then move in governor romney's direction. come thursday morning, the entire narrative of this race is going to change. >> joined by chris kofenus communications editor. chris, let me start with you. is this thing going to be as governor christie just said, is it going to be a game-changer? >> well, thanks for chris christie for raising expectations. i mean here's the reality -- i think if everyone is speaking honestly and openly, if you're the romney campaign, you l

romney's performance against the president could very well change the entire race. but how important are presidential debates and how much do they really shape the outcome in november? we heard a lot. joining me someone who has done research on polling impact of past debates. larry sabato, director of center for politics at the university of virginia. larry, historically speaking how big of a deal are the first debates really? >> well it can be a dig deal, jenna. of course governor christie was right. he got off message as you know because part of the amusing previous view to a presidential debate is the attempt by both sides to run down their own candidate. about how horrible a debater they are and the other side is so terrific. so governor christie may be committed a behalf by telling the truth. if you look historically, there is a pretty good chance that mitt romney can make up some ground. usually, not always, but usually the challenger to the incumbent just by standing on the stage and doing a credible job, can make up some ground against the incumbent. just, let me mention one

-new national poll of likely voters showing a very tight race, the president leading governor romney by 2 points, a sta advertise ta cal high. bret baier will be live at a particular suburb, a major battleground suburb, and bret baier is joining us now. let's talk about the timing of this. they say international issues won't be a part of this debate but you have the romney campaign publishing this editorial today which is all about foreign policy. what do you make of the timing? >> well, sure, i mean this issue is clearly on the informan front burner because all of the news coverage now finally because of the libya situation and how it was handled from the very beginning. that, obviously, has not subsided yet and you have the concerns about iran and the president not meeting with world leaders at the united nations fresh in people's minds. and i think the romney campaign wanted to get involved in that with this opinion editorial and we are hearing that a speech is in the works. but john is right, this debate is about domestic policy, this debate is about the economy. and gym lehrer, the moderato

, and the first time the majority of the people who will vote in this race will have an opportunity to make the direct comparison and see the two of them. when they do, i've seen mitt romney do this before. he's going to come inned with night. he's going to lay outs had vision for america. he's going to contrast what his view is and the president's record and the presidenta view for the future and this whole race is going to be turned upside down come thursday morning. >> schieffer: if he's had such a hard time so far, why suddenly will it be a whole different deal? >> because i think it is a whole different deal. what he's going to be doing wednesday night is not going to be filtered by anyone. it's not going to be spun by anybody or filtered by anybody. the american people are going to get 90 minutes to look these two men right in their eyes in their living room and make their judgment. their vision for the future, their experience and the record and be able to say who do we trust the most to be the president of the united states during these incredibly challenging times? i've watched mit

obama an 8 point advantage now. the average of the national polls shows a tighter race with governor romney trailing by 4. campaign carl cammeron live in boston now. how are the candidates preparing for the debates. >> they can be real decision makers for the folks and an awful lot of undecides will begin to make them on what happens this wednesday. president obama will be going to nevada for a lot of his debate preps starting at the end of this weekend. and he has been rehearsing with john kerry. the senator from massachusetts and there will be some questions and a lot riding on it. john kerry has asked for serious answers and accounting for what's happened in libya the last couple of days. mr. romney has been sparring with rob portman the senator from ohio with mock debates. he will spend literally the next four days off the campaign trail heading preparing for it he will head to denver on monday. debate preps in boston. more closed door rehearsals leading up to wednesday. knows this is a big opportunity for him to regain momentum having slid in the polls for several weeks now. he

over the last week that the race is starting to get away from governor romney that i think is not really founded in necessarily good data. you know, out of five polls that will come out in the week, there's always one poll that will show some margin where it shows obama winning a state like virginia or ohio or florida by a margin that's greater than he won it in 2008. i think governor romney's a stronger candidate. i think the fundamentals are better for republicans. i have a very hard time believing some of these polls that are showing, you know, obama up by ten points in a place like ohio, and especially virginia. i do expect to be in the republican column come november. >> charles blow, one of the reasons people are believing this momentum is that every poll now appears to be widening. that may be an exaggeration. i'm sure we can find one or two which remain the same, but it seems that ever since the convention, we have seen obama's fortunes get better and mitt romney's get worse. and you've got to say as the tension builds to the first debate, this is make or break week

it was basically a one-point race at that point. so. >> he need a night like that. and mitt romney did very well in the -- in the, debates during the primaries. very well. belt better than a lot. he need one of those nights. >> he has been preparing for the debates for three years. >> there you go. sure they got it all memorized. they got their zirngz reangers . >>> the government's troubled gun tracking program, called fast and furious. dozens of more weapons rather that were part of the investigation are being linked to crimes in mexico. our partners at univision, report 57 pref yufsly undiscovered guns connect to fast and furious have now been found at the sites of murders, kidnappings and brutal massacres. >>> breaking news from afghanistan overnight. nato says three of its troops have been killeden a bombing. the interpreter also died. this comes after an american service member was killed over the weekend in a fire fight with afghan troops. abc's mohamed lila reports. >> reporter: some are describing this as a fire fight between american troops and the afghan soldiers they were working alo

us that romney is gaffing and -- >> sean: i'm not buying the media. >> it's not how americans are seeing the race. >> sean: look, i think they're trying to deplete the motivation of people. i think they're trying to influence it. the media are sellouts, they're done, finished. >> i sometimes feel i'm on radio free europe. look moscow all around me. >> sean: sometimes i feel like that, too. i guess the question i have, how important are the debates? in 30 seconds, what do you tell romney? my instinct is to punch hard. i don't think obama has ever been verbally stung in his life. there's so much material that rights itself. what do you think? yes, that's true. romney is likely to win the debates. first of all, he has more experience at debating. he had 20 at them during the primary. obama has never faced a serious debate except for hillary, and that was a cattle show of 15 candidates and wasn't a debate. he's never faced that. romney has. and i think that, you know, you take iran, for example. obama's comment on "60 minutes" is do you want to start another war? okay, that's his

for such a criminal trial. >> father robert gall, thank you for joining us. >>> now to the race for the white house, today is expected to be a quiet date for both president obama and mitt romney. neither candidate has any public events planned. behind the scenes, they're cramming for their first debate. chip reid is traveling with the romney campaign in boston. >> reporter: good morning, anthony. this debate is huge for both candidates. some republican strategists say if does not do well in this, it could be downhill from there. and president obama's advisors are very worried he could make a mistake giving mitt romney the opportunity he needs. >> my opponent thinks it's fair that somebody who makes $20 million a year like he does plays a lower tax rate than a cop or teacher who makes $50,000. >> at campaign appearances friday, president obama and mitt romney seemed to be previewing next wednesday's debate when the battle over taxes is expected to take center stage. romney say ts he'll hold the president accountable for misrepresenting his record. >> i will not raise taxes on middle income americans

their minds than we think. the democratic convention moved the needle in this race because bill clinton went out for 45 minutes and made a case on substance largely against mitt romney and he made it. and romney's 47% remark moved the needle. there is a narrow lead for president obama. so romney needs to make the case affirmatively for his program and why it's better than the president's. this is not just a referendum. this was the romney theory going in. he needs to prove that he's a better choice for the next four years. >> people are still persuadable. 15% is a pretty big number. if you look at undecided voters in most polls it's around 6%. but rich is right. people will pay attention to this and they will look for something maybe to make them change their minds for people who aren't completely thrilled about their choice which actually i think in both parties it's most people. most people aren't that excited about their choice. but it's mostly the independent voters they will have to focus on. bill: you make the case this debate is really for them. the persuadables. >> it's not just for

. the romney campaign is hoping to wake up on thursday morning and see the race substantially changed when you look at the way the polls are going they can't afford to slide back much further than they are. they need a game changer. in terms of raising expectations for themselves that is not what they are doing, dutifully staying inside the lines yesterday governor romney's running mate paul ryan lowered expectations for his client. >> i don't think one event is going to make or make this campaign. president obama is a very gifted speaker. the man has been on the national stage for many years, he's an experienced debater. he's done these kind tkaoe kind of events very time. this is mitt raps firs's first time on the stage. >> he's done 23 of these but in a multiple setting. this is the first time he's ever engaged in a one-on-one presidential debate. bill: how are they playing the expectations team, president obama's team? >> they were in nevada, they are tog much th doing much the same thing. they set up a debate camp at the west lynn lake lain lake las vegas resort. even though he was though

. >>> on wednesday night, mitt romney's going to be standing on the same stage with the president of the united states and i am telling you, david, come thursday morning, the entire narrative of this race is going to change. >> is it going to be a game change? bracing from declining polls and series of missteps that have sparked criticism from prominent republicans mitt romney takes the stage with president obama and it could be a pivotal moment for his campaign. joining me now, virginia governor and romney supporter bob mcdonnell. thank you for being with us. how important is this debate and do you think we'll be waking up on thursday morning as chris christie said with a completely different campaign? >> i think all the debates are important but particularly this one because it's on domestic policy which is the critical issue in the race and the first times that americans will get to see mitt romney and barack obama side by side. not only hear their words and assess their styles and their candor, but also get to hear the ideas. i think that's what this whole race comes down to, is the record.

the campaign trail. get ready. it's a tight race in key battleground states and that has many republicans calling for romney go on offense, when he takes the stage on wednesday in denver. we begin america's news headquarters with carl cameron. we understand that romney is prepare for example wednesday's debate. any word on when we can expect. >> reporter: he's been preparing, arguably for seven years or more, but very, very aggressive in the last few months. he will go mind the doors and do additional rehearsing, talking with the staff about how to do this. the evolution has changed a little bit. he has been doing a lot of mock debates with ohio senator rob portman, thrs but there is a long-standing process where he does q&a with his staff, trying to hone the rhetoric. the truth of the matter is, as handicap ors both sides of the aisle watch, have you the folks from the president obama trying to lower his expectations and the romney camp trying to lower the idea of a break-out moment f. you can get him to expect him to mediocre and he does reasonable, he will come out. but one-liners and

? is governor christie right, will this turn the presidential race upside down in byron? >> mitt romney at the south carolina primary, newt gingrich cleaned his clock. helhelp headedthey were headed o florida. romney felt he had his back to the wall, and he beat gingrich in both debates in florida. that's the spirit romney needs. he needs to do that well. >> greta: will he, steve hayes? reticent on this libya thing, he backed away a little bit. >> yeah. i think the tone of the romney campaign, particularly over the last week, has been a softer tone. they haven't wanted to be as confrontational with president obama. you have this line that mitt romney has been saying now throughout the entire, you know, election, president obama's a really nice guy, he's in over his head. i don't think that's the right attitude to take into the debate. i think he'll have to be aggressive. he'll have to be confrontational. doesn't mean he has to be nasty. there's a difference, but he has to be very aggressive, look like he's being aggressive to the viewers. >> greta: when he says he's over his head, that'

comedian in the presidential race. and i'd like to take this opportunity to ask both romney and obama to debate me because i think that both of those guys -- i think that the american people are being given a false choice, because the choice between the lesser of two evils is a false choice. it's not an actual choice. i think that peace and freedom and solutions, economic solutions, that -- that involve investment in our own country first are the things that i offer and that i want to talk about. so i think, yes, i'm very, very serious. and, you know, i would like people to incorporate these ideas in this election cycle, such as -- >> sean: you're running as a socialist? >> well, i'm running on the peace and freedom party, and part of -- i do think we do need more socialism in this country this time. we need to move stuff from the top to the middle and the bottom, because it keeps on staying at the top. how you build a middle class is bring stuff from the top down to the middle. and people deserve something back for the tax they pay. >> sean: all right. so, for example, we now have a

to the race. shows the mitt romney at 49 losing to obama with 47. much closer in that regard. >> so the first one wednesday. then we have two more coming up. >> this is the biggest one. this is the biggest one, no doubt about it. >> 36 days to go. >> 36 days to go. my goodness. >> not that we're counting. >> not that we're counting, no. >>> as the war in afghanistan winds down, the u.s. military has reached a grim new milestone. 2,000 servicemembers have now died in the war. the latest casualty, it was over the weekend when a soldier died in a fire fight with afghan troops. an american civilian contractor was also killed in that battle. >>> all right. there are new findings this morning in the government's botched gun-tracking program known as fast and furious with dozens more firearms now being linked to crimes in mexico. our new partner univision reports 57 previously undiscovered guns connected to fast and furious have been recovered at the sites of murders, kidnapping, and at least two massacres. >>> a detroit area woman who collected welfare despite wenning winning a million dollar lotte

're in the cnn newsroom. i'm fredricka whitfield. it could be a critical point in the presidential race. the first big showdown just three days away and both president obama and mitt romney are busy preparing. cnn takes a look at what's at stake. >> reporter: both obama and romney are looking to lower the stakes at this week's debate. >> mitt romney has prepared more than any other candidate in history. >> president obama is a very gifted speaker. the man has been on the national stage for many years. he's an experienced debater. he's done these kinds of debates before. this is mitt's first time on this kind of stage. >> beth myers said president obama is widely regarded as one of the most talented political communicators in modern history. the obama camp likes to remind voters that the president hasn't had as much time to prepare for the debates because he's busy being commander in chief. when it comes to just how much debates matter, it depends. >> most often debates don't make that big a difference. very few candidates ever win an election with a debate, but quite a few have lost an

poll by the "washington post" finds the race still very tight nationwide with president obama leading mitt romney by two points, 49% to 47%. but in two of the biggest swing states, the states that will decide the election, the president has a bigger lead. in florida, a quinnipiac university/cbs news/"new york times" poll has the president ahead by nine points, 53% to 44%. in ohio he leads governor romney by ten points, 53% to 43%. john dickerson is our cbs news political director. john, some republicans are complaining these polls aren't painting an accurate picture. do they have a case? >> reporter: well, they have a case when they remind us that polls are a snapshot in time and that things can change. really what we should look at in polls is the trends and how things are moving over time, the currents. and right now those favor barack obama. the polls are really more like a painting than they are a digital photograph. one of the other complaints is that pollsters are talking to too many democrats. in 2004 democrats said pollsters were talking to too many republicans. it's a standar

romney would do well and the race will turn upside down come thursday morping he said yesterday. >> eric: he was going and some of the other surrogates were saying let's manage and expect low on the debates. but chris christie said the debate will be a game changer. thursday morning clear choice and new campaign started on tuesday morning christie saying it was tough talk for the new jersey governor. >> gretchen: if i were woon on the romney camp i would have him saying that. it grabs head lines and the attitude that people feel is missing. >> eric: where is the proof? you say you arut canning the deficit and create four million jobs. give us ideas. we haven't heard them. >> steve: head line is that the president is lying in his ads. he said they don't hold the president accountable in the main stream med yampt -- media . rasmussen shows how many people are for the president and how many for mr. mitt romney . rasmussen poll was accurate in 2004 and 8 getting the results according to the track being poll. 43 percent said they are certain to vote for romney and 42 percent certain vote for

for these debates. these debates are the only thing left for romney to win the campaign through. the president, i'm sure has prepped and made sure, how do i perform well and don't give romney a chance to sneak back into this race. as long as the president does well in these debates, he will win the election. there's no reason for him not to be practicing strongly. >> buzzfeed is reporting conservative mormons circulating an e-mail to make september 13th a day of prayer and fasting for mr. romney so he'll succeed in his debate next week. i suppose mr. romney believes it's on a wing and a prayer does he? >> well, certainly they're going to prep very strongly very hard for this debate. he certainly has a strong group of followers and supporters who are going to be absolutely rooting for him, as the president does. i think they're taking it very seriously and not leaving anything to chance. >> perry to you do you think that mr. romney's recent experience during those republican primaries may lull him into a false sense of security since he was debating against einsteinian fig

they point in one direction, they're all wrong. but we are planning for a close race as we always have. >> another democratic strategist offered this assessment. >> this isn't over. it can move back and forth three and four times between now and november 6. if i'm romney you try to create that momentum. he saw a sign to do it. >> of the eight presidential races in the past ten where the leads were cut or flipped by the opponent, the average was 5%. in some cases a debate moved the needle. bret? >> bret: thanks. today, missouri republican senate candidate todd akin confirmed he was arrested in pro-life demonstration 25 years ago and he is defending a comment that the democratic income bent claire mccaskill had not been "lady like" in a recent debate. akin lost support over the comment about legitimate rape last month. >> it seems to me the offensive thing is voting record destructive to people of our state. >> bret: mccaskill says akin ladylike comment left her speechless. when we come back, is al-qaeda making a comeback? you would never know it by listening to the obama administration.

and turned it from a defensive problem for the romney campaign into the advance of the way they will frail the race in terms of the stagnation economy that they accuse president obama of overseeing and the prosperity economy they are promising. >> let's help them get jobs so they can get a paycheck so they are good taxpayers. (applause) this is the point that we have been trying to make. sometimes the point doesn't get made the right way. we don't want a stagnant economy that fosters dependency. we have added 15 million people to the food stamp roles in four years. largely there is no opportunity or economic growth. >>carl: that is the argument mitt romney hopes to make tomorrow night standing face to face with president obama. there has been mock debating today for mitt romney and stepped out if a quick snack and other than that it will be closed doors until the walk through tomorrow afternoon. >>trace: what about the 47 percent controversy. does governor romney have an answer do that? >>carl: he has been working through a series of answers on it. last night when he got to denver, he did

of the race. >> for the about 100th time or so, i am in this race. >> reporter: gop leaders, including mitt romney, have called on akin to step aside and have full key funding as recently as sunday the chairman of the republican party predicted a democratic win if akin stays in the race. >> we're not going to play in missouri with todd akin, i can tell you that. >> reporter: but none of that is having any affect on todd akin. in fact, today he begins a tour. he is calling it the commonsense bus tour all across missouri. >> chip, thank you. >>> a southern california wildfire has turned deadly this morning. firefighters are struggling with strong winds east of san diego. as ben tracie reports, a man who ignored evacuation orders was found dead on monday. >> reporter: the wildfire tore through 2,000 acres in campo, california. 65 miles east of san diego near the border with mexico destroying 20 homes and possibly taking one life. >> we don't know the cause at this point of death, although his body was found in his structure. >> reporter: people who live many the area say that would likely be t

's weird because you can argue they're racing after the wrong news headlines. for instance we spent a couple days obsessing over a 1980s or 1990s redistribution quote from obama right? that was the news of the day for the romney campaign at that time. we gave more attention to that than we did to the revifgs the gdp numbers or growth numbers that happened yesterday down from 1.7 to 1.3% growth. you would think in an ideal world for romney that would be a bigger story. the economy grew much slower in the second quarter than we thought. >> right. >> they put a lot more emphasis and push behind the redistribution quote which was old, sort of meaningless, didn't say much about obama. >> 1998. you're looking at the fact that over the last three months, kelly, you have jobs coming in at hundred dollar a hundred thousand per month. and they're chasing the headline of the day or they pull out a 1998 video. people don't care about that any more than they care about when mitt romney stopped being ceo of bain capital. what they want to know is how the hell are you going to get me back to work?

's going to show the race tightening and the national numbers but not in the battleground states i think. one of the big reasons for that, one of the big underreported reasons for that is how the romney/ryan ticket has offended seniors. we've talked about how this ticket offended women, african-americans, hispanics. the big story is how they have offended seniors and how seniors have gone from the romney/ryan camp into the obama camp largely i think because of the ryan plan on medicare, and so that -- the 47% was poorly answered by ryan, but an equal weight around this campaign's neck is that medicare plan which is turning off seniors in the droves. >> thanks for breaching our embargo, julian. ken, "the new york times" has a detailed look at the tax avoidance strategies employed via bain. here is a quote, while hardly a novel concept and not unique to bain, the inevitable result is that elite investors like mr. romney are able to increase their fortunes in ways unavoidable to most taxpayers. i have to ask you, ken, did it ever make political sense for mitt romney to promise a 20% tax cut

, they call it using your head, playing the expectations game. now, in a close race, it matters no matter how absurd it may seem. it also matters when a player conspicuously fails to play, like this weekend when romney supporter governor chris christie boldly predicted in so many words that romney would win by a knockout. let's talk about it tonight, as well as everything else that goes into winning a debate. former new york mayor and presidential candidate rudy giuliani joins me. so yesterday, governor christie kind of went against the romney campaign general message, kind of raised expectations saying he was going to turn the race upside down, it was going to be a barn burner. do you think that was a mistake? >> chris is his own man, he's got his own views. i think chris is right to the extent that it's a very important debate for -- more important debate for governor romney than it is for president obama. we know president obama. we either like him, don't like him or are in between. lot more people have to get to know governor romney, so i think it's an important debate. i think he has to

in the ground me in iowa. hhee les the imarcandidate. romney only started making frequent appearances in the state a week before the iowa caucuses. by then, it was too late. and he lost a tight race. roey's campaign should have refocused their efforts, but stead, ty find thevese in hugdian, he fit baots re ct toy. president obama is moving in for the final knockout punch. the obama campaign unveiled a full two-minute television video ad today with president directly addressing viewers. the ad is airing in four swing states, including iowa. it'timeor aew enomiargument. patriotism. rooted in the belief that growing our economy against with a strong, thriving middle class. read my plan. compare it to governor romney's and ciorrs anksor lteni. >> the president introduced the theme of economic patriotism into his stump speech at a campaign event in virginia today. >> during campaign season, you always hear a lot about patriotism. well, u know what? it's time foa neecon ioti. an economic patriotism rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong and thriving middle class.

are desperate to find her. plus this it's a crucial battleground state in the race for the white house. how president obama and governor romney plan to woo undecided voters days ahead of early voting in the buckeye state. arthel: president obama and governor mitt romney descending on the battleground state of ohio today, the president taking his message to college students at two state universities, while governor romney targets work-class voters in major metropolitan areas. less than a week before early voting begins in ohio where does each candidate stand. bob cusack is the managing editor for the hill. good to see you. which candidate would you like to analyze first you pick. >> president obama, he has the lead in ohio and that has picked up. i don't think that is surprising because last week was the worst week for the mitt romney campaign. can romney still win ohio? yes. he's going to have to change the dynamic a little bit. why is ohio so important, the last eleven presidential elections if you win ohio you win the presidency. that's why these two guys are fighting over the state and d

the race for the white house. today michigan, the state where governor romney was born and his father served as governor. the wolverine state carries 16 electoral votes, the unemployment rate is 9.4%, more than a full point higher than the national average. president obama has visited the state once since april, he won the state handily in 2008. governor romney has been there three times. according to the latest real clear politics average of state polls, president obama is up by more than eight points in the state of michigan. bill is the editor of "inside michigan politics," good to see you, sir. >> great to be here. arthel: so can governor romney swing michigan his way, and what does he need to do to make that happen? >> he probably needs to spend some more time here. i think he needs to spend some money here that hasn't been spent so far or the super pacs do on his behalf. arthel: i see. well, you know, of course, it's always good to get him out will and, of course, as you are very well aware of, many be of the backers and romney supporters saying we definitely need you out on the

do their theory of this race, if you just attack obama, just point out where he failed, mitt romney win buys default that is the strategic error of the 2012 campaign. >> ryan lizza, suzy welch? >> the problems are right and something about the with the delivery. >> i agree we having they said. >> that us for being brief. >>> cnn newsroom with carol costello begins now. good morning, carol. >> hi, john. happening now in the newsroom, they are stretching out and suiting up, the nfl's referees turn return to their field of expertise tonight. with the replacements gone, football fans can now direct their anger elsewhere. >>> fbi agents investigating the la

was only on lsd. >> you mixed it up. hey, willie, let's go to the race for the president. obviously, a lot going on. the polls not looking good. mitt romney saying he's not paying attention to the polls. you're having a lot of his supporters saying, well, you don't pay any attention to the polls. i heard walter mondale say that the night before the election. a lot of desperation going on on the far right, but what's happening in the race? >> laser focus on the swing states. the candidates in virginia today, one of 30 states where early voting is already under way. it's a state president obama won in 2008 by more than six points. and where a polling average from real clear politics shows him right now at this moment up about 4.5 points. yesterday both candidates holding rallies in ohio, crisscrossing the state, sometimes almost running into each other they were so close campaigning. mitt romney tried to brush back suggestions his campaign is faltering there after that "new york times"/cbs/quinnipiac poll showing him ten points down in ohio. >> i'm very pleased with some polls, less so with

think you will see the numbers move back in another direction and the whole race will turn upside down. >> what you are you doing? if romney fails to meet those heavy expectations, he's going to lose the general election and that's going to leave open 26 -- oh. the jersey is strong in this one. >> in political language the governor there was sandbagging. actually he was sandbagging. he should have been low balling, that's playing up the skills of the other guy claiming you have to chance. >>> we have talked about how some republicans seem to be running against a president who doesn't actually exist suggesting that president obama is some kind of foreigner with hidden plans to outlaw guns and bring european-style socialism to the u.s. of a. well, back in 2008 focus on the family, a hard right christian group, sent a memo to supporters about what 2012 would look like if obama was elected. well, first a prediction about the boy scouts of america. here they are. the boy scouts no longer exist as an organization. they chose to disband rather than be forced to obey the supreme court decision

is heeding mitt -- leadig mitt romney on that. we are seeing a role reversal. >>shepard: it is no way you can say this race is wrapped up. this race is not wrapped up. i don't think either side has any belief this is wrapped up. do people know how fast the news cycles go? >>guest: they do. the president's campaign advisors in ohio are saying that despite some of the polls are showing them up ten points, they are running like they are down ten points. they are not about to rest even if they see a pulling back from the romney campaign in he. that state is looking harder from mitt romney than the other states. the romney campaign can go harder in florida because that is the big one, the big rise. >>shepard: no doubt about it. thank you from capitol hill. the current federal rules to protect children online were written before facebook, before youtube, before the smart phones. now the rules are about to change. had a break is when i was on maternity leave. i have retired from doing this one thing that i loved. now, i'm going to be able to have the time to explore something different. it's like an

, mika. >> yes, they are. are you ready? >> i'm ready for you to talk about the presidential race. >> zip it. according to the latest quinnipiac university/new york times/cbs news poll of likely voters, it's actually related -- >> no, it's not. >> president obama leads romney by 10 percentage points in ohio. no republican has lost and then won the presidency. the president is up nine points in florida and has opened up a 12-point lead in pennsylvania. in the same poll, president obama leads mitt romney in his handling of the economy in all three states. 51% of polled voters say the president would do the better job. >> okay, let's go back to the last slide, guys. and mark halperin, let's talk to you. i know you agree with me that the media is liberal. guess what? republicans have somehow managed to win despite that media liberal bias. you've said it repeatedly on this show. so despite that fact, mitt romney is not getting crushed in all three of these states because of the liberal media bias. what's happening there, and why is he losing so badly, especially in ohio? >> well, it's very unl

on the campaign trail as president obama and mitt romney hunkers down and prepares for wednesday's debate. a new abc news/"washington post" poll shows a very tight race. so both campaigns see tomorrow night as a big opportunity. this presidential campaign has been going on for nearly two years and finally it's debate season for the nominees. the time when americans seem to really start paying attention. president obama's rehearsing with senator john kerry and mitt romney is squaring off against senator rob portman. both candidates have challenges and checklists. president obama's working on shorter answers, trying to avoid sounding like the professor he was before the white house. democrats say he needs to look strong and forceful and not appear irritated or impatient. >> they're trying to get him into the mode of being able to answer questions, short, concisely, and to the point, and so it's much more like his mannerisms and his style and the way he comes across as opposed to information in this. >> reporter: and mitt romney? he has to seem relatable, especially after his 47% comment. how can h

able to convince all the persuadable voters that mitt romney is, in fact, a vampire. megyn: now, we saw during the republican presidential primary that these debates really can have an effect. candidates really were forced to leave the race based on their debate performances occasionally during that republican primary, so it's no accident that we have both sides trying to lower expectations for their candidate, including most recently the president over the weekend saying this: >> i know folks in the media are speculating already on who's going to have the best zingers -- >> you are. >> i don't know about that, you know? who's going to put the most points on the board. >> you are! >> i -- no, no, governor romney, he's a good debater. i'm just okay. megyn: the crowd wasn't getting what the president was trying to do there. [laughter] >> well, he wasn't exactly closing the deal. he didn't sound like he was too convinced of his just okayness, and certainly there's a playing this part, there's going out and saying, oh, i don't know how well we'll do, but i would say that democrats certainly

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